Alternative substrates in the production of seedlings peppers

Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) is a vegetable of great socioeconomic importance in Brazil. One of the main steps of the production system is the production of quality seedlings and for this a good quality substrate is necessary. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the development of pepper seedlings under different alternative substrates. The experiment was carried out following a completely randomized design with four replications. The 13 treatments were obtained in a 3x4+1 factorial; The first factor consists of three substrates: PlantHort II, III PlantHort (alternative) and the Plantmax® (commercial substrate) and the second factor comprises four levels of carbonized rice hulls in proportions of 0, 25, 50, 75% and additional treatment with 100% carbonized rice husk. Alternative substrates PlantHort II; PlantHort III was superior to the Plantmax® trade in plant height, root length, lap diameter, shoot dry mass, root dry mass, leaf number and dickson quality index. The alternative substrate PlantHort III provided a higher development quality index for sweet pepper seedlings in relation to the PlantHort II and Plantmax® substrates.